Photo by Melissa Yaroschak / Courtesy of DCP Theatre
Linda Friday, as Carol, and Bill Algeo, as Ralph, rehearse a scene for DCP Theatre’s production of “The Last Romance.”

Mark Baliles has appeared on-stage and assistant directed at DCP Theatre, but “The Last Romance” is the first time he’ll be the director.

“I’ve been looking for something that caught my interest enough to give it the time to direct,” Baliles said.

The show, about 80-year-old widower Ralph Bellini and his renewed chance at love in a relationship with 79-year-old Carol Reynolds, is described in promotional literature as “a heart-warming comedy about the transformative power of love.”

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“I think older people will see a lot of themselves in it,” said Jan Thompson, who plays Rose Tagliatelle, Ralph’s protective and lonely sister.

“Younger people that see it, I hope will see a different face of aging,” Thompson said. “I think everyone who sees the play will really enjoy it in many different ways.”

The play gives a look at things such as fears of being alone, desire for love and companionship, loneliness and the risks of allowing someone new into your life.

“I think what we’re finding is it touches something deep inside in terms of just a shared human experience,” Baliles said.

That applies to people of all ages, but the show is “a powerful reminder that you don’t stop feeling those things when you get to be 70 and 80. In fact, sometimes they’re even magnified,” Baliles said. “We forget that sometimes.”

The play is written by Joe DiPietro, whose other works have included “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” “Memphis” and “Over the River and Through the Woods.”

It opens Jan. 31 and runs through the Valentine’s Day weekend.

The romance and poignancy make it a good Valentine’s show, but it’s not just that, Bill Algeo, who plays Ralph, said.

“It is one of the funniest plays I’ve ever read in my life,” Algeo said. “The banter between the characters is hysterical. It’s fast paced. The dialogue is amazing. There are incredibly poignant, powerful emotional moments in the story. There are equally, if not more, very tongue-in-cheek, very back and forth humorous exchanges.”

Algeo, 53, who teaches “Act Your Age,” an acting class, at Peter Becker Community in Harleysville, said he used what he sees in his students at the retirement community for his role as an 80-year-old.

“For me, the challenge is how do I do them justice,” Algeo said.

“They’re very vibrant, they’re very vital, animated. They have some restrictions in movement,” he said, “but I found that they are by no means the stereotypical senior citizen hunched over with a cane.”

It will take about 90 minutes for him to put on the makeup to age himself to 80, Algeo said.

None of the people who auditioned for the show were the age of the characters and it’s not unusual for actors to portray someone whose age is different from their own, Algeo and Baliles said.

Linda Friday, who plays Carol, said her previous roles have included one in “The Lion in Winter” that was a lot older than her age.

In his director’s notes, Baliles dedicates the production to his parents, who have been married for more than 60 years, and his father-in-law, who was widowed, remarried and is widowed for a second time.

As a board member at Peter Becker Community, Baliles said, there are a variety of attitudes and ways in which the retirement community members live out their lives and form new relationships. Some marry again; others are always together, but don’t marry; others don’t form new romantic attachments.

“When I read this play, it just really, really spoke to me about some of those issues and just how beautifully, and yet realistically, it helps you look at some of those things,” Baliles said, “and not just for senior citizens, but for any of us to get a better glimpse into senior adults are real people with the same feelings we have.”

Thompson, director of marketing at Waverly Heights in Gladwyne, said she sees similarities in the show’s characters and the older adults with which she works.

One of those similarities, she said, is no hesitation to speak their minds.

“Sometimes those filters don’t work anymore,” Thompson said.

Algeo said he doesn’t know what will be in store for him at 80, but he knows what he’s looking for.

“I want to be Ralph,” Algeo said.

“I want to seize the day. I don’t want to be 80 years old and miserable,” he said. “I’d rather go out kicking.”

Along with Algeo, Thompson and Friday, the cast includes David Williams as Ralph as a younger man. Patrick Gallagher is the producer. Caris Baliles is assistant director.

“It doesn’t end at all how you expect it to,” Algeo said.

“Or how you want it to,” Baliles said.

The show does, however, have an optimistic note, and is a feel-good play, Algeo said.

“There’s growth in every character,” Friday said.

The production is sponsored by Peter Becker Community, which has sponsored shows at DCP Theatre for a number of years, Baliles said.